Valentina Marinescu, Ph. D, is a Reader at the Faculty of Sociology and Social Work – Bucharest University (Bucharest, Romania). She teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in media and society, and methods of researching mass communication. Her interests lie in media and communication studies in Eastern Europe, particularly in Romania, and in gender studies.

Structured around the narratives of twenty-two
women, each identified by name or pseudonym, Hide & Seek: Jewish Women
and Hair Covering is a book about marriage and commandments that oversee
the life of Jewish Orthodox women and at the same time offers an ethnographic
account of Jewish women, of their relation with God, religion and the community
(at large and as a “family”). Many religious women have internalized the value
of hair covering because it is based on an underlying Jewish principle –
“modesty”. And it is around these two related terms-“hair” and “modesty”-that
the present collection of essays is shaped.

Of utmost importance, in my opinion, is the
“complete” (but not “circular”) structure of the book. Thus, it starts with a
detail - the image of a young woman’s hair as Lynne Schreiber saw one day on an
airplane, followed by the development of the main lines of inquiry regarding
hair coverage in Jewish culture (What is Hair?). In the last article (Halachot of Hair) Lynne Schreiber offers a
full and well-documented review of the religious views on this issue, stressing
the fact that early classical rabbinic literature (Talmud and Midrash) presents an entirely different approach to the
phenomenon of hair covering than the Bible. In the same essay, the author
stresses the fact that rabbinic literature of the Middle Ages further
reinforced the issue of women's hair covering as an integral part of Jewish
religious observance, and points out that only in the modern era was the
practice seriously challenged, as it fades from general societal convention.

The core-theme of the book is the explanation and
understanding of the socio-religious and symbolic value that hair covering has
for many Jewish women. The guiding principle behind day-to-day behavior of
married women in traditional Jewish family was and remains that of “modesty,”
which initiated the mitzvah connected to her physical appearance: this
“external appearance” should be viewed as desirable only by her husband (and
not by anyone else). The principle of “modesty” has a greater influence on
Jewish women behavior; the most visible aspect of this value being a
conservative dress code and hair coverage. Of all 613 commandments which govern
behavior from morning to night and birth until death, the authors published in
this book value for the most part the practice of hair coverage, and the
wearing of a wig or hat. It had become a good deed or mitzvah, like
getting education or helping others. Although nearly all Orthodox Jews adhere
strictly to the laws of rabbinic Judaism, the practice of hair coverage differs
between Ashkenazi Jews (those of eastern European origin) and Sephardic Jews
(those of Mediterranean descent). The twenty two essays published in the book
document these distinctions extensively, stressing in addition the extent to
which religious observance is highly variable among Jews of different degrees
of orthodoxy.

From a first reading of the book, it is
understood that for a traditional Jewish woman, the family is the central
social unit, around which her entire existence is formed. For the female
authors of the essays, the family represents the principal way of transmitting
tradition from generation to generation, wherein Jewish culture takes a form of
mobility. Alongside the breakdown of the family unit in secular society, it is
noticeable that the book’s essays are set to prove that the Orthodox Jewish
community has managed to protect the stability and sanctity of the family. For
the Jewish married woman, the observance of the mitzvah of hair coverage
represents more than a simple duty; it is a way of living and a way to increase
“goodness” in the universe. At the same time, within the traditional Jewish
family the husband and wife roles are well defined respectively. The book
conveys, as such, a very distinct image of the traditional Jewish family: in
this case the families understand the idea that rituals have symbolic
communicative functions and can express concepts about relationships and
derivative structures-this being the case of hair coverage.

But the stress put on the gender-role a Jewish
woman has within the family (and the hair coverage that marks it) is only one
level at which the book can be read. At another one, a deeper one in my view, a
greater relevance is attributed to Jewish woman’s personal experience in
telling the “general story” of hair coverage. This type of interpretation is favoured by the diversity of “gazes” or perspectives
published in the book -- the essays uncover an unfamiliar aspect in the daily
life of the Jewish woman that is most likely unknown to non-Jewish people. The
narratives dealing with the issue of hair coverage vary from the story of the
preparation before the wedding (Devorah Israeli-Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow)
to that of personal feelings concerning divorce (Barbara Roberts-In Decency),
from the depiction of self-fulfilment through
embracing this practice as a clear-cut symbol of adherence to the Jewish
religion (Aviva Zacks-I’m Covering my Hair) to
that of renouncing the use of hats without a total abandonment of the custom
(Ruth Ben-Ammi-Proud in the Golan Heights).
This wealth of perspectives captures the attention and leads to a deeper
understanding of the custom of hair coverage. One can read about the difference
between various types of wigs (artificial or natural wigs, East-European and
American wigs) and, associated to that, one could better understand the
relations between husband and wife, and mother-in-law and daughter-in-law
within a new family (Viva Hammer-My First Shaitel).
Here the wig is more than a simple “cult-object,” and becomes a symbol for a
new identity -- that of a married woman.

At the same time, a “gender-sensitive” approach
encompasses the gathering of narratives. I refer here to the (religious) male
perspectives that, either in the article on the interpreted rabbi’s texts (RivkahSlonim-Blessing from
above and Blessing from bellow: The LubavitcherRebbe on “Kisui Rosh”) or in
the personal story of a husband (Joseph I.
Greenberg- Thinking outside the Hatbox: Reflections of a Husband). The
“male gaze” further strengthens a woman’s decision to conform to the mitzvah
of hair coverage. Likewise, the book does not feature only articles that
advocate the issue at question, but also contains essays with solid arguments
against this custom (Erica Brown-“A Crown of Thorns:” Orthodox Women who
Chose Not to Cover their Hair).

The narrative genre favoured
in the volume (the presentation of stories in a personalized,
“auto-biographically” form) allows the reader to avoid reifying these women,
whose individual narration emerges as a complex process. The custom of hair
coverage and wearing wigs or scarves is related both to life cycle events (such
as, marriage, and the birth of a child) and mundane events (such as, the choice
between various types of hats). Significantly, various types of hair coverage
are explored through episodes of daily family life (such as, the set of
personal decisions involved in wearing snoods in Kaya
Eisenberg-Halachah, Society, and the Snood),
while this Jewish practice becomes of great importance for a widow (ShaineSplotlter-A Widows’s Peek).

The book contains not only narrations (despite
the fact that they constitute the majority) but also a poem devoted to hair
coverage (Julie Hauser-Out of Sight!). The ethnographical perspective
portrays a rich view of Jewish social life. For example, the wig – as a simple
material object – has both a spiritual value (pertaining to religious customs),
and a definite physical existence (dealing with health issues). The essays
devoted to the personal experience of Esther Marianne Posner (When my Wig
Became my Shaitel), or the depiction of Fagie Rosen’s vocation as a ShaitelMacher (Lynne Schreiber-Behind the Façade: A
Day in the Life of a ShaitelMacher)
contain examples of the above.

Hide & Seek: Jewish Women and Hair
Covering covers a particular domain that belongs not just to the study of
women in Judaism, but also to the fields of anthropology, religion and cultural
studies. In my opinion, Schreiber’s book could be relevant and useful for
readers who are interested in questions of gender and narratives, gender and
religion, and gender and communitarian involvement.

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the journal except where otherwise indicated. There is to be no reproduction or
distribution of contents by any means without prior permission. Contents do not
necessarily reflect the views of the editors.